S15.121A (Major laceration of right vertebral artery, initial encounter) compared with S15.122A (Major laceration of left vertebral artery, initial encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S15.121A and S15.122A code the same condition on opposite sides.
Same condition; these differ only in which side is documented.
These codes share a category and title and differ only in the side affected. The documentation decides which applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.
Source: ICD-10-CM tabular list (laterality variant derived from the code title)
Same condition, opposite side. S15.121A and S15.122A name the same condition on opposite sides of the body.
Same category and title, differing only in which side is affected — the documentation decides which one applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.
| S15.121AMajor laceration of right vertebral artery, initial encounter | S15.122AMajor laceration of left vertebral artery, initial encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| Classification | S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88) | S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88) |
| Definition | Major laceration of right vertebral artery, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S15.121A). | Major laceration of left vertebral artery, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S15.122A). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S15 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S15 |
| Includes | injuries of nape injuries of supraclavicular region injuries of throat | injuries of nape injuries of supraclavicular region injuries of throat |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources